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Unparalleled Pastor Helps

There is a mental illness that affects about 1 percent of
the general population.It is
called obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD)—not the same as
obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which affects about 2 percent of the population.
In most cases, a person with OCD will require medication, but people with the
personality disorder can be helped significantly by counseling.

People are complex. They are a blend of certain ways of
thinking, feeling, and behaving.Christian counselors or pastors may not be deeply involved with helping
in the treatment of OCD patients. However, we are likely to be called upon to
deal with people who have a dominant personality style of conscientiousness and
who may also have carried that style too far and developed obsessive-compulsive
personality disorder.

Conscientiousness is a decidedly good thing. However when a
person who has a personality dominated by conscientiousness carries that
conscientious drive too far, it becomes counterproductive and disruptive.

A person who has a strong conscientious style will be
someone who works hard, does things the right way, has strong moral principles
and opinions, and shows devotion to doing the right thing, perfectionism,
perseverance, order and detail, prudence, and a tendency to be a pack rat.While there is nothing particularly
sinful or wrong with any of those things, if those traits are carried too far
the person develops obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

The same persons with OCPD will be preoccupied with details,
lists, rules, order, and schedules so much that the main point of the activity
is secondary. Their perfectionism is so strong that it interferes with getting
a task completed. They become so devoted to work that leisure activities are
nearly nonexistent. They do not discard old or worn out things. They become
miserly, rigid, stubborn, and seldom relax. They become so scrupulous about
morals, etc., that their ideas go beyond Scripture and even contradictbiblical truth.

If a Christian counselor or pastor is caught up in a
situation where this type of person has come for help, what can be done? First,
recognize that a conscientious style is not abnormal. Obsessive-compulsive
personality disorder is the abnormality. Second, realize that the disorder
develops because the conscientious style has gone too far in the person’s
life. Someone has said that heresy is truth that has gone too far and become
distorted. That is what happens when this personality disorder is evident in a
person’s life: the conscientious style has gone too far.

A Christian with this personality disorder can become very
legalistic.He may think he has
committed the unpardonable sin and do different kinds of compulsive things to
compensate or feel better. Persons with obsessive-compulsive tendencies are
most often persons under stress. Helping them learn techniques for managing
stress better will usually be a good starting point.

A person helping someone like this can focus on some key
points that will typically provide improvement.Some of those points are:

• Learning how to relax (and not feel guilty about
it).

• Taking the initiative to make a decision, even if
it’s not perfect.

• Aiming for results at work, etc., that are good
enough instead of perfect.

• Keeping a journal of how many times you begin a
sentence with “I should” or “I must” type statements.

• Sharing your feelings with people you care about.

The good news is that an obsessive-compulsive personality
can change! A counselor will likely need to develop thick skin as he works with
counselees like this. The goal is not to change them into something they are
not, but to help them become the best and most Christ-honoring conscientious
personality style they can be.

This kind of person needs hope and encouragement. They need
usable but non-threatening ideas and suggestions as they seek to change. They
need to be assured that their style is good but their problem is in taking it
too far. They need to see change not as something to fight but to embrace. They
need to believe they can change and that it will be better for them. “I
can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13), could easily become the theme verse for a person
who is dealing with a personality tendency to be too conscientious.

James Rudy Gray is
certified as a professional counselor by the National Board for Certified
Counselors, and is a member of the American Association of Christian
Counselors. He pastors Utica Baptist Church in Seneca, S.C.